Senators' Mark Stone deserves all-star consideration, but numbers may not add up

That doesn’t mean he’ll be headed to the NHL All-Star Game, but the high-scoring winger will find out whether he can make plans or not when the rosters for all four divisions are announced during Wednesday’s Senators-Toronto Maple Leafs game.

The all-star weekend will feature a skills competition on Jan. 27 and a three-on-three tournament on Jan. 28 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.

Stone, who went into Tuesday’s visit by the Chicago Blackhawks with 17 goals and 23 assists in 40 games, will certainly get consideration, but the Senators will likely only have one representative and it quite possible that captain Erik Karlsson will get the nod.

Tampa’s Steven Stamkos (Atlantic Division), Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (Pacific), Nashville’s P.K. Subban (Central) and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin (Metropolitan) have already been named division captains based on fan voting, while the National Hockey League’s hockey operations department will fill out the rest of the rosters.

The decision on Stone will come down to how many forwards are needed to fill out the Atlantic Division roster. It’s safe to assume that Stamkos linemate Nikita Kucherov will be selected, while the league likes to make sure all 31 teams have at least one representative.

If the NHL determines it’s not possible to take a forward off the Senators roster, then expect Karlsson to get the nod. No, he hasn’t had the kind of season he had in 2016-17, but after having off-season surgery to repair an ankle tendon, he has produced nearly a point a game and makes a difference every night.

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